Reimagining Wordsworth, Cumbria Architecture, Grasmere Building, Architect, Pictures, News
Reimagining Wordsworth in Grasmere, Cumbria
Lake District Building in Cumbria, northwest England, UK – design by Purcell
11 Dec 2017
Reimagining Wordsworth
Architects: Purcell
Location: Grasmere, Lake District, Cumbria, England
Landmark planning permission to be granted to redevelop the Wordsworth Trust site at Town End
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Lake District National Park Authority Planning Committee members gave their approval for the Wordsworth Trust’s proposed £6.2m development project Reimagining Wordsworth, which will see the conservation, adaptation and extension of the Trust’s property across the hamlet of Town End in Grasmere, Cumbria.
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Pending second round approval from the Heritage Lottery Fund and other fundraising, work on the scheme is expected to start in Spring 2018, and to be complete by Spring 2020, in time to celebrate the 250th anniversary of William Wordsworth’s birth. As well as preserving and enhancing the heritage significance of Dove Cottage and Town End today and into the future of the location, the project will also reinterpret the Wordsworth Trust’s important collection of manuscripts, books and works of art, designated by the government for its national and international significance.
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Centred around Dove Cottage, iconic home of the poet, the project draws on the expertise of world-leading specialists in the field of architecture, heritage and conservation, in order to revitalise one of the first ‘writer’s houses’ in England. Led by architect Rob Gregory, Associate at Purcell, the plans consist of seven core proposals including a museum extension and the provision of a new learning centre, with all proposals serving to create a more holistic and exciting visitor experience and support the sustainable development of Town End as a cultural destination and a living hamlet. Wordsworth is synonymous with the dramatic landscape of the Lake District, recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The architects have ensured that the natural surroundings are incorporated into the designs through the introduction of a range of viewing points and the sensitive enhancement of green spaces to make them more accessible for visitors. Working in close collaboration with interpretation designer Nissen Richards, Purcell has orchestrated a range of meaningful places that will be experienced across the site, paying particular attention to enhance the transition between key rooms and places.
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Explaining the team’s approach, Rob Gregory said: “As is true of all Purcell’s work, we stopped, looked and listened hard before we put pen to paper. In Town End, this led to an appreciation of the existing townscape, and the qualities of space between the buildings, and the formation of four core themes that brought clarity to the design narrative; Townscape, Legibility, Orientation and Threshold.
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The final design incorporates seven key proposals that thread their way through the hamlet, all of which centre on enhancing the existing yard. Through this we demonstrated that the Trust did not need to build a new Welcome Centre, but that they could create a new welcome at the centre of the hamlet, adjacent to, but not overshadowing the focal point of Dove Cottage.
The combined effect of our seven proposals creates a unified architectural approach that not only creates new qualities of legibility and orientation at the heart of the site, but also brings a coherent approach to the site as a whole.”
At the heart of the plans is the proposed extension and refurbishment of the Wordsworth Museum which includes a new double-height orientation space, a rooftop viewing platform where visitors can enjoy the surrounding landscape, expanded and enhanced gallery spaces, and level access to Dove Cottage Garden.
Two further proposals that have been approved include a new cafe on the site of the current shop, and the development of a learning centre on the site of the existing tea rooms. This new facility will help to bring greater prominence to the Trust’s increasingly diverse and extensive programme of activities.
Three new wayfinding gateways will be developed at each of the key approach points to Town End. These subtle architectural devices draw inspiration from the region’s traditional sheep folds, providing gathering points to shepherd visitors in the right direction and to introduce a narrative to their journey through sound and typography.
At the centre of the site a new piece of townscape has been approved, a level yard, creating a space that functions as a new heart for the site. Set between a cluster of buildings, the yard would be a crucial threshold for entry into the museum, Dove Cottage and the cafe. A welcome, shop and introductory exhibition on the ground floor of the Museum will provide a single point of entry for visitors, improving access and orientation for all areas of the site.
A further stage of the plans will see the creation of a side garden that will serve to ease the transition between the Wordsworth Museum and Dove Cottage. This intimate and informal garden will begin the journey of taking visitors back in time; an immersive introductory film in the ground floor woodshed of Dove Cottage will complete the transition, prior to visitors entering William and Dorothy Wordsworth’s home.
Michael McGregor, Director of the Wordsworth Trust said “I’m delighted that the Lake District National Park Authority has approved our plans for Reimagining Wordsworth. We are a step closer to realising our ambition, which is to bring Wordsworth’s poetry and legacy alive for more people. It will be a fitting tribute to one of our greatest poets on the 250th anniversary of his birth.”
Jeff Cowton, Curator and Head of Learning at The Wordsworth Trust comments: “The project is an opportunity to experience William and Dorothy’s words in their freshness, as if we were alive in their time with their context and concerns. The project will allow more people to vividly feel their words and their meanings, broadening the appeal of the poet and his work.”
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Wordsworth Trust:
Dove Cottage was the home of one of Britain’s greatest poets, William Wordsworth (1770-1850), who was instrumental in founding the Romantic movement. He lived at the cottage during what is termed his ‘golden decade’, moving into the former pub with his sister, Dorothy just before Christmas, 1799. It was here that he wrote the majority of his most famous works, including ‘The Prelude’ and ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’.
The Wordsworth Trust was founded in 1891 to preserve Dove Cottage, and the surrounding hamlet of Town End. The Trust is an independent charity, funded by a combination of visitor income, donations from private trusts and individuals, and statutory funding from Arts Council England and South Lakeland District Council.
Known as the global centre for British Romanticism, Town End is home to Dove Cottage, the Wordsworth Museum and the Jerwood Centre. As well as the historic buildings of Town End, the Wordsworth Trust looks after an important collection of works by Wordsworth and the other writers and artists of the period, including Dorothy’s Grasmere Journals. At the heart of this collection are the manuscripts that Wordsworth’s descendants gave to the Trust in 1935 so that they could remain at Dove Cottage. These are housed in the Jerwood Centre when not on show in the Wordsworth Museum.
November 2016 saw South Lakeland (Cumbria) listed as one of the top three areas for heritage activity in the RSA Heritage Index, produced in collaboration with the Heritage Lottery Fund, and UNESCO World Heritage status awarded to the Lake District in July 2017 In February 2016, the Trust was awarded a first round pass* and a grant of £655,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards a £6.2m project to transform the Wordsworth story. The Trust will submit a second round application to the HLF in December 2017, for a grant of £4.1m.
Images: Purcell
Reimagining Wordsworth in Grasmere, Cumbria images / information received 111217
Location:Grasmere, Cumbria, England
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